Falling From Grace
by Melissa Brooks
Summary: The prequel to "Road to Redemption." Todd finds Marty and they become close friends as they depend on one another to escape thier abusive gaurdians.
1. Chapter 1

Falling From Grace

AN: This story takes place when Todd and Marty were kids and will have scenes of child abuse. I do not own these characters. The characters belong to ABC's "One Life to Live."

Chapter One

Marty and her aunt Kiki were on their way to the place that Marty had just learned that she would be staying. "I don't understand, why can't I just stay with you?

Aunt Kiki let out a sigh in frustration, "Marty, we've been through this before. You've been to much of a handful and I just can't be expected to clean up your messes any longer, but Mr. Peterson has assured me that you will be very well taken care of."

"As if you care," Marty mumbled under her breath.

"See this is what I'm talking about. You have such a smart mouth for a six year old. You're mother spoiled you rotten. Maybe you'd prefer if I just left you on the side of the road and you can fend for yourself."

"No, I'll be better, I promise."

"You better be. Just remember, little girls who are bad go to Hell."

Marty was silent the rest of the drive. Her aunt was in one of her moods and the little girl knew from experience that her aunt would have no problem deserting her on the side of the road. Marty had fallen asleep when they had pulled up to the mansion on the hill.

"Come on Marty, wake up, you'll be asleep in your new bed soon enough."

Marty rubbed her eyes as she stepped out of her aunt's car and followed her to the door. Marty liked this place already, there was a fog that gave the house and surrounding hills an ominous, but intriguing feel. Marty fantasized about all the adventures she could find at this place. Her aunt kiki's place had been so drab in comparison to this house on the hills.

Aunt Kiki knocked on the door and a dark-haired, tall man answered the door. Marty felt so small in this stranger's presence.

"Come in, you're late," the stranger said.

"Sorry, Marty can be such a handful sometimes, well you'll see soon enough."

The man glared at her aunt, tightened up his fists, and squatted so that he was at the same eyelevel as Marty. "You must be Marty, how terribly rude we are being, talking about you like you're not here."

"That's okay Mr. Peterson, I'm glad to make your acquaintance," Marty said as she curtsied. Aunt Kiki hade made her practice at home and Marty was glad that this was almost over. She couldn't wait until she could take off this uncomfortable dress. Her aunt had made it clear that she needed to make a good impression.

"Call me Michael; you're just as beautiful as I imagined you would be. You have your mother's eyes," Michael said. Marty recognized the pain that had filled his face when he mentioned her mother. She felt connected to him and his pain mirrored that of her own. Her parent's death had manufactured a hole in her heart and it was frustrating that others didn't understand. Her aunt Kiki at times seemed glad that they were dead. She had little patience for Marty's grief and even went so far to dismiss it. She had often told Marty to get over it when the little girl would call out for her mother. "You knew my mother?"Marty asked.

"Yeah, I knew her well. Come on in, you can sit on this couch, while your aunt and I discuss some business," Michael said as he pointed to a couch in the living room.

Marty sat down on the couch as Michael pulled her aunt in the next room. Michael shut the door to the foyer behind him; he didn't want Marty to hear the things that he had to say.

"You got my money?" Kiki asked.

"Yeah I got your money you filthy whore, not that a piece of trash like you deserves it" Michael said as he got close to Kiki's face. How much did you have to drink tonight before getting in a car with her?

"I haven't had a drink tonight."

"Oh give me a break; you reek of the alcohol that you didn't drink.

"I didn't come here to get lectured, I came here to give you Marty in exchange for the five million you promised me, but if you don't want her, I'll take her and go." Michael walked to the desk and pulled out a envelope and handed it to Kiki."A deals a deal, but if you come anywhere near her again, I'll break your neck."

"Then the brats all yours," Kiki said as she walked out of the foyer. Marty saw her aunt leave without saying goodbye.

Michael came out of the foyer and sat down by Marty. "You guys were loud."

"Did you overhear us fighting?"

"Were you fighting over me?"

No, we weren't fighting; I just wish that she took better care of you."

"Oh."

"Marty,I need to talk you about something important. Do you know how to play make-believe?"

"Yeah."

"That's good, I need you to go by the name of Michelle while you stay with me and to tell others that I am your uncle. Can you do that for me?"

"Why?"

"cause if you don't they will take you away from here and I won't be able to take care of you. You don't want to end up in an orphanage where you will be all alone, do you?

"No. I don't want to be by myself."

"Okay, well I want to take care of you and make sure that you never end up that way, but in order to do that, I need you to help me by pretending to be my niece Michelle. Can you do that," Michael asked. Michael was a psychiatrist and he knew exactly how to play on Marty's fear of abandonment until she agreed to keep her identity a secret and to change her name to Michelle.

Once he had Marty's promise that she would go by the name of Michelle, he walked her up the stairs and showed her to her new bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

The next morning Marty woke up to find two kids, a boy and a girl, in her room. Their stares made her feel unnerved. "What do you want?" Marty asked.

"Who are you?" the boy asked as he peered down at Marty, "and why are you in our house?"

"Luke, you know who she is, dad told us about her, remember?" the young girl said and then she looked into Marty's eyes. You're our cousin Michelle, aren't you?"

Marty was surprised that Michael's kids didn't know who she really was. She could understand why he wouldn't want her to say anything to strangers, because they would take her away, and she found it odd that he wouldn't tell his own kids the truth about who she really was." Marty decided to go along with the lie; she had promised after all, "yeah, I'm your cousin Michelle. What's your name?"

"My name's Megan, I'm seven and this is my older brother Luke."

"Good to meet you," Marty said.

"You too, it's going to be great to have another kid around here to boss around," Luke said.

"Just because you're two years older doesn't make you the boss. I don't listen to you and Michelle won't either because us girls got to stick together. " Megan said as she stuck her tongue out.

Marty snickered, she had never had brothers and sisters before and she found their playful banter to be amusing. She climbed out of bed. "What do you guys do around here for fun?"

"There's lots of things that we can do? Do you want to play barbies or dolls?" Megan asked in an excited rush, she finally had another girl that she could play with. Luke never wanted to play dolls with her and she was always stuck playing boy games.

"Or we could build forts out in the backyard," Luke said interrupting his sister.

"That sounds like fun," Marty exclaimed with excitement. She was eager to explore this new environment and Marty had never really liked playing with dolls.

"Oh," Megan said as her face fell.

"I think that both sound like fun," Marty said trying to make Megan feel better. "I think that we should play dolls for a little bit and then we can go explore the backyard."

"Yeah, that's a great idea Michelle," Luke said, "I'll even play dolls with you."

"Really?" asked Megan.

"Really," stated Luke, "playing dolls ain't so bad, just don't tell the other guys." Megan snorted as she tried to contain her laughter which only made Marty and Luke laugh as well.

"I won't your secrets safe with me," Marty said after she recovered from her laughing fit.

Marty, Megan, and Luke played dolls for about an hour and then went exploring in the back yard. Marty loved the backyard from the moment she saw it. There was a tree house in the center of the yard and she could hear the sound of water trickling from the nearby river. Marty ran and climbed up the tree house with Luke and Megan running close behind.

Michael got up at ten and heard the kids playing in the bedroom, it sounded like they were getting along and he felt relieved. He decided that he would go to the store and buy bacon and eggs. Today was her first day here and he would do everything that he could to make it special for her. He had only known Marty for a couple of hours, but she was everything that he imagined her to be and more. She was his little angel, his key to salvation, and there wasn't anything that he wouldn't do for her. He didn't want to interrupt the children so he left instructions for their care with the nanny Lucretia and stepped out of the house.

Michael returned an hour later and was instantly filled with panic when he heard crying coming from the backyard. He left the groceries in the car and went running to find her. The sight of Marty holding her arm was something that he would never forget. "What happened?" he said as he stooped down to Marty's level so that he could see how badly she had been hurt. She had bruises and scratches on her arms and it was swelling. It looked like it could be broken.

"My arm hurts, I fell out of the tree." Marty said.

"We were just playing and I bumped into her and she fell out of the treehouse. I'm so sorry Michelle," Luke said as he grabbed her hand.

"Don't touch her." Michael snapped.

"It was an accident. It's okay Luke." Marty said in between sobs.

"Where's Lucretia? "

"In the house," Luke said.

"Okay, I'm going to take Michelle to the doctor's. Mind Lucretia, and Luke you and I are going to have a discussion about what happened when I get home."

Michael returned home with Marty a couple of hours later. He gave her the painkillers the doctor had prescribed and tucked her into bed so that she could get her rest. He stormed down the stairs, she had been hurt today and he was going to make sure that it never happened again. "Lucretia can I see you in my office."

Lucretia followed Michael into his office and nervously sat down. "I called the agency and your replacement will be sent here in the morning. You're fired. I want you to pack up your things and get the hell out of my house," Michael said trying to keep his anger in control.

"What did I do?" Lucretia asked.

"Nothing, that's the problem. You were supposed to be watching my children, and I come home to find them unattended and Michelle's arm broken. I don't want anything like that to ever happen again, so I'm letting you go."

"I've been with your family for nine years, you know I'm responsible. It was an accident. I'm sorry that she got hurt, but it was an accident none the less."

"I'm sorry, but Michelle is very important to me and I can't trust you with her after today."

"Can I at least say goodbye to the children."

"Of course, tell Luke that I will be up to talk to him shortly." Michael sighed as Lucretia shut the door behind her. Today was one of those days when he needed the one thing that he shouldn't have. Michael wanted a drink, he needed a drink, and he was tempted to get up and drive to the nearest liquor store so that he could drown his sorrows. His hands were shaking and all he wanted to do was to give in to the demons that had been haunting him. He pulled out a picture that he had in his back pocket. "I'm not going to drink. I don't need a drink. The last time I had alcohol I hurt you and I won't make that mistake again. Marty's beautiful, the spitting image of you. I let her down today, but I'll make it up to her. I'll make things right with her the way I should have with you," Michael said to the photograph and then placed it back in his pocket.

He got up and headed up the stairs to his children's room. He checked on Megan, she was sound asleep. He took a couple of deep breaths and counted to five to calm his anger and then proceeded to Luke's room. Luke looked up from the book that he was reading when his dad entered the room. "How's Michelle?"

"She has a broken arm, thanks to you."

"It was an accident, dad, I promise."

"I know, but it can't happen again, that's why I'm grounding you for a month."

"That's not fair dad. I didn't mean to hurt her."

"But you did and there are consequences to your actions. Michelle is very important to me and when she's hurt, I'm hurt and I know that this seems harsh to you, but hopefully it will make you be more careful in the future. You're like an older brother now to Michelle. She needs you to watch out for her and keep her safe which is the job that I am entrusting to you. You are Michelle's protector and any pain that comes her way I will revisit upon you ten fold," Michael said trying to make it clear that protecting Michelle needed to be his top priority. Michael knew that he couldn't be with her every second of every day and he needed somebody to be on his side to watch out for her. She needed her big brother to protect her and Michael needed to make Luke understand how important her safety and welfare was to him.

Luke didn't know why he needed to be Michelle's protector. He genuinely liked her, but why was it his job to look out for her. His dad had never asked him to look out for Megan so why was he being asked to look out for Michelle and why was her happiness his responsibility? "Why is Michelle so important to you?" Luke asked.

"Michelle is all I have left of her mother."

"Were you close with Michelle's mother? How come Megan and I never met her? She was our aunt, right?"

"Michelle's mother and I were very close once upon a time, but we had a falling out and I haven't seen her since. You knew her a long time ago, but you were very young. "

"Did I ever meet Michelle?"

"No, Samantha, Michelle's mother was pregnant with her the last time I saw her."

"What was your fight about?"

"What?"

"Your fight with Aunt Samantha, what was it about?"

"I was mean to her. I hurt her badly."

"Did you say you were sorry?"

"Sometimes saying sorry is not enough. Now I want you to go to sleep. We've all had a long day." He tucked in his son and headed out of the room. Michael sat down on his bed feeling completely frustrated. His first day with her didn't live up to the fantasy that he had created in his mind. He needed to try harder, and to be better for her. There were times Michael just wanted to escape and let the others live his life for him, but he couldn't, not now. He wasn't that person any more and he would not let them fight his battles for him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

It had been two years since Marty's Aunt Kiki had dropped her off at Michael's house and she had taken on the identity of Michelle. Michael had been kind to Marty and was the closest thing that she had to a parent. When she missed her mother she always knew that she could go talk to Michael, he was always willing to listen and to share stories about her. As Marty grew her memories of her parents diminished. She could barely remember what her father was like, but at least with Michael's help Marty was able to keep the memory of her mother from completely fading. Marty knew that she was loved, she never doubted it, not like she did with her Aunt Kiki, but sometimes Marty grew weary and just wanted time to herself. It seemed to Marty that the only time she ever got to herself was nighttime and a few measly hours that she was at school. Marty felt as if she was always being watched, the center of attention, If he couldn't be with her then he made sure that Linda, the nanny that took over Lucretia's old job, was there to watch her. Michael had even set up an elaborate security system with cameras installed in every room so that he could make sure that his little angel was safe at all costs.

Marty had the flu so Michael had kept her home from school. She was feeling well enough to go to school, but Michael insisted that she stay home until her cough was completely gone. He didn't want to take the chance that the other school children would infect his Michelle. Michael usually stayed home from work to take care of her when she was sick, but the hospital that he worked at had been short staffed and they needed him to be there. Michael was hesitant to leave but knew that Marty would be well taken care of. Michael knocked on Marty's door before he left for the day to see how she was doing.

"Come in," Marty called.

Michael entered Marty's room and sat down on her bed beside her. "I've got to get going, if you need anything, just ring this bell and Linda will come and get it for you. I don't want you getting out of bed and straining yourself unless it's absolutely necessary," Michael said as he placed his hand on Marty's forehead to see if her fever had come back. Marty had a tendency of getting high fevers and he had promised himself that he would not leave her if her fever had returned. She felt cool to the touch and he breathed a sigh of relief. He could leave. She would be okay. He would not lose her.

"I'm not fragile, I won't break," Marty said in an attempt to reassure him that she would be okay without him.

"I know. I've made sure of that," Michael said as he glanced towards the camera in her room. The security system was the best investment that he had ever made. It was the only thing that had given him peace of mind and he knew that he could check up on her if he needed to at any time.

"Try and get some rest and I'll be home as soon as I can," Michael said as he leaned down and kissed Marty on the forehead and then he left her room.

Marty listened to hear the garage door shut and once she knew that Michael was gone she climbed out of bed. She was bored and tired of lying in bed. She decided that she wanted to explore the attic upstairs. Marty had always been curious about what was in the attic. She tried exploring it within the first week that she lived with Michael, but it had been locked, she had tried several times since then, but the door was always locked. When she had asked Michael if she could play up there he had told her that no one other than him was allowed to go in that room. He explained that there were things up there that could hurt her.

Michael's explanation only made Marty more curious and she had been thinking of ways to bypass the lock ever since. One night Marty heard Michael closing the attic door and coming down the stairs, she cracked her door open and saw Michael walk to the hall closet and pull out a tiny box. He placed something inside the box and once it was back in its place he shut the door. Marty was sure that the key to the secret room was inside that box and she was determined to see what mystery lay behind the locked doors.

There was only one problem; Linda would be in her room any minute to keep an eye on her. Marty figured out a plan of temporarily being able to explore without Linda's annoying presence. She knew that if she executed her plan Michael would know what she had been up to and would be upset but most likely not with her. In two years Marty had never gotten in trouble for anything, she could do no wrong in his eyes. So she figured that this time wouldn't be any different then the other times that she had broken a household rule.

"Hey Linda, do you want to play hide and seek?" Marty asked when Linda came in her room.

"Your uncle wants you to stay in bed today."

"I know, but I'm really feeling so much better and I've been so bored. My uncle doesn't like it when I'm upset either, I know that you wouldn't want to be responsible for hurting my feelings," Marty said, hoping that she had hit the right buttons to get her what she wanted.

"Okay, I'll make you a deal. We will play one game and then you will take a nap."

"Deal," she said as she shook Linda's outstretched hand, "I want to count, go and hide Linda."

Marty began to count as she peaked through her fingers covering her eyes. She saw Linda go into her closet and shut the door. She finished counting and pretended to look while she grabbed a tie out of her dad's closet. She tied one end around the door and the other end around the other closet door.

"Hey what's going on out there?" Marty heard Linda ask as she took off. Marty didn't know how long the tie would hold, so she didn't waste any time in seeking out her adventure. She pulled a chair up to the hall closet and pulled down the tiny box. Inside was the key, Marty couldn't bear the anticipation any longer; she ran up the stairs and placed the key inside the lock and opened up the door.

Inside the attic there was a dresser with framed pictures on them. One was a picture of a boy and two girls fishing, one of the girls had a similar appearance to Marty and she wondered if it was a picture of her mother when she was little. There was another picture with Michael and her mother. They looked to be about twenty. They were standing outside at the empire state building. Marty couldn't figure out why Michael had hid these pictures from her. He wasn't like her Aunt Kiki. He knew how much she had missed her mother; she had even told him how much she wanted to have a picture of her so that she could remember what she looked like. She had told Michael how her Aunt Kiki had destroyed all of the pictures of her parents when they died. She had asked him then if he had any pictures of her and he told her no. Marty felt sick inside, she had trusted Michael, and he was right the contents of this room had hurt her.

Marty opened up the bottom dresser drawer to see what else he was hiding from her. There was an album filled with hand drawn drawings of her mother and she was surprised to find that some of the drawings were of herself. She didn't know that Michael could draw; there was so much she didn't know about him. On the last page of the album there was a letter addressed to Michael. Marty instantly recognized the handwriting on the letter to be her mother's. Marty began to read the letter, she knew that she shouldn't be reading Michael's letter without his permission, but she was desperate to read her mother's words again.

"Michael,

Words cannot describe how much hatred, anger, and disappointment I have for you. I trusted you and you betrayed me in the worst possible way. I thought I knew you, the boy from across the creek who always had my back, who was kind, trustworthy, and above else a great friend, but I was wrong, I didn't know you. I've tried to rack my brain trying to come up with possible explanations for what happened that night. I know that the grief of losing your wife, my sister, Michelle, was too much for you and when she died the best of you died with her. You began to drink and began using drugs to numb the pain, without any care to how your actions would affect others. I went there that night to try to help you, to talk some sense into you, but you were high and drunk and you decided to take your anger out on me by raping me.

Writing this letter is one of the hardest things that I have to do, but my therapist thinks that it would be best for me to finally confront you and let you know just how badly you hurt me, but, I also need to say thank you. I wish that I was strong enough to confront you in person, but I'm not ready to see you again. When I found out that I was pregnant I was so afraid that you were going to take her away from me. When you found out that I was pregnant, you confronted me and you were so angry just like that night. You almost hit me, but somehow, you were able to control your anger just long enough to walk away. I was so surprised when I got the papers from your lawyer. Thank you for signing away your rights to our child, I know that wasn't easy for you to do, but you made the right decision, I will make sure that she is happy and well taken care of and I wanted to tell you that she is my salvation. My reason for trying to move on and pick of the pieces after you shattered me. I'd like to say that I could one day forgive you, but I can't. I don't think I'll ever forgive you.

** -**Samantha.

Marty didn't know how she felt, of all the things she expected to find in the attic, this wasn't it. Michael had lied to her, he had told her that he had been friends with her mother before she died, but it was obvious that her mom hated him and that he had somehow hurt her. Marty didn't know what rape was but she was determined to find out. She was filled with so many questions. Was she the child that her mother had been writing about? Was it possible that Michael was her father? Marty held onto the photo album and left the attic. When Michael got home, she would tell him what she had been up to in his absence and he would finally be honest with her. She went back to her room and slid the photo album under her bed and then let Linda out of the closet.

"Where have you been young lady? That was a mean trick and your father's going to find out about it when he gets home," Linda said as she laid eyes on Marty.

"Think I care. Go ahead and tell him. In fact I'll tell him myself," Marty said as she laid down on her bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Marty sat on her bed while Linda was berating her for locking her in the closet when she heard footsteps on the stairs. The sound filled Marty with apprehension. She knew that Michael was home and the thought of confronting him filled her with dread. She hated confrontation and she thought about keeping her mouth shut about what she had found, but she couldn't let it go. She owed it to her mother to find out the truth.

"How is my Michelle doing?" Michael asked as he entered the room.

"She was a perfect angel," Linda lied. She knew how protective Michael was over Michelle and she didn't want to lose her job, "I'm going to go make Michelle some soup," Linda added as she left the room.

Michael went and sat down on the bed and placed his hand on her forehead. He needed to see if there was any trace of the fever. He felt relived; his Michelle was finally getting better. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Is it true?" Marty asked as she wiped her sweaty palms on her sheets. She needed answers and she couldn't postpone the confrontation or she might never go through with it.

"Is what true?"

"Are you my father?"

Michael stared at Michelle in shock. The only other person that knew that he was her father was Marty's Aunt Kiki, but Michael didn't think she was dumb enough to cross him. "Where did you get an idea like that?" Michael asked as he was determined to find out who betrayed him so that he could harshly deal with them.

"I locked Linda in my closet and went up to the Attic and I found this," Marty said as she handed the letter over to Michael.

Michael's hand shook as he grabbed the letter. Everything had been ruined. Marty was his second chance to make things right. He should have destroyed that letter but he couldn't. He needed it as a reminder of the man that he had become that terrible night, the man that he never wanted to see again. Marty knew the truth; he could see it in her eyes. "You knew that I didn't want you to play up there. You disobeyed me." Michael said defensively as he got off of Marty's bed and began to pace around her room.

"I know. I was curious and wanted to see what you kept in that room. I was wrong, but so were you. You lied to me. You told me that you and my mother were friends, but she didn't like you."

"The relationship I had with your mother is complicated and it's hard to explain."

"What's rape? She said that you raped her, what is that?" Marty asked hoping to gain an understanding of how Michael had hurt her mother.

Michael turned around to face Marty. He couldn't make her understand. He couldn't talk about it with her. Marty's actions had caused him everything that he was working so hard to accomplish. Why couldn't she have listened to him? "It's complicated; you're too young to understand. You ruined everything, I told you not to go up there," he said as he grabbed Marty by the shoulders and shook her.

"Michael, you're hurting me," Marty said as she begun to cry.

Michael couldn't hold the anger in any longer; there was too much building he had to release it. "I'll give you something to cry about," Michael said as he let go of Marty's shoulders and slapped her across the face.

Marty instantly regretted confronting Michael and she cowered to the ground hoping that he wouldn't hit her again.

Michael couldn't believe that he had lost control of his anger again. He had worked so hard to keep it under control. He had hurt the one person that he had promised himself that he would never hurt. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit you, I can't be here anymore," Michael said as he left Marty on the floor.

"Linda, watch Michelle, I'm leaving. I'll be back later." Michael yelled before he walked out of the house.

The pain and anger was overwhelming and he had to find a way to make it disappear. He knew that he should have driven to an AA meeting, but the call of the drink was too powerful to overcome and it wasn't long before he was sitting at Rodi's with a bottle of Vodka and a shot glass sitting before him.

Michael stared at the Vodka. The last time that he drank was the night that he raped Samantha. He was in so much pain that night; he was so angry with himself for his part in Michelle's death that he did anything to kill the memories of Michelle. Michelle was dead because of him, Samantha lost her twin sister because of him, and there was nothing that he could do to take it back. He had never meant to hurt her, they were fighting in the car and he took his eyes off the road for one minute. One minute was all it took to destroy his life. One minute was all it took for Michael to hit the oncoming semi. Michelle had died instantly but he had lived.

It was the worst thing that he had ever done until the night he raped Samantha. She had come over to talk to him about his kids, but he didn't want to listen to her. He wanted to block out the pain. He wanted to feel good again. Samantha had tried to save him that night but he couldn't be saved. Michael didn't remember much from that night, but what he did remember would haunt him forever. Samantha had tried to tell him what a good a man he was. She told him that his kids needed him and that Michelle would want him to stop punishing himself. He could still remember how angry he had felt in that moment. He wasn't a good man he was damaged. He needed to show her the kind of monster he was. Then something happened, something had snapped inside of him. It was as if he could see himself hurting Samantha. He wanted to stop, but he couldn't. Maybe it was because of the drugs in his system or maybe his anger was just too powerful to overcome. These were the excuses that Michael had tried to believe, but he couldn't. He was right. He was damaged, he had proven it to Samantha and he had proven it to himself. Marty was supposed to be his second chance to prove that he didn't have to be that monster, that he could control his anger, his chance to make it up to Michelle and most of all to Samantha.

His second chance had been ruined. He had hurt Marty, he slapped her and it was just one more moment he couldn't take back no matter how much he wanted to. He downed the shot of Vodka; there was no point in keeping up the façade any longer. He was a monster; he would always be a monster.

"Rough day?" a man who was sitting next to Michael asked.

"Yeah, I got in a fight with my daughter."

"Kids, there much more trouble then they're worth," the man next to him grumbled.

"Do you have kids?" Michael asked.

"Yeah I got a boy. He's been nothing but a disappointment to me. What was your fight about? Maybe I could help.

"She disobeyed me and I lost my temper with her."

"I hope you showed her whose boss. It's best to correct their mistakes while their young and vulnerable. Discipline and punishment are the motto's I go by in my household. It's the only way to run a household if you ask me. So what did your kid do to disobey you?"

"I'd rather not talk about it if you don't mind."

"That's okay I better get going anyways. It was nice to meet you, I'm sorry what was your name?" the man asked as he stretched his hand outwards.

"My name's Michael," Michael said as he shook his hand.

"The name's Peter Manning. It's a small town. I'm sure I'll be seeing you around," Peter said as he walked out of the bar.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Marty climbed out of bed and grabbed the dictionary off her top shelf. She flipped the book open to R and stopped when she found the definition she was looking for. "Rape is the unlawful compelling of a woman through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse," Marty read aloud. She put the book away; she still didn't know if she fully understood what had happened between Michael and her mother but she knew it wasn't good and she was almost positive that Michael was her father.

Luke walked into Marty's room just as she was putting the dictionary back on the bookshelf, "How are you fee-" Luke stopped midsentence when Marty turned around and he saw the bruising that was starting to form around her left eye. "Michelle, what happened?"

Marty thought about telling Luke the truth, that her name wasn't Michelle and that she was most likely his sister but she couldn't. She was angry with Michael but she still loved him and she loved Luke and Megan and didn't want to lose them. She was afraid that Michael would send her back to her aunt Kiki's; she couldn't go back there so she thought up a lie. "I tripped and fell down the stairs."

"You need to be more careful. Does my dad know that you fell? Where is he?"

"Yeah he knows. I don't know where he went. He just took off."

"Is everything okay? You seem upset about some thing?"

"I'm okay, I'm just tired."

"Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"No, I don't want to be alone."

"Okay, go climb into bed. I'll read to you until you fall asleep." Luke grabbed "Alice in wonderland, because it was Michelle's favorite story, and went and sat by her bed. Marty was tired and could feel her eyes drifting as the images of Alice's adventures came into her mind and it wasn't long before she fell asleep.

Marty woke up to find Michael sitting at the edge of her bed. He was shaking her to try to get her to wake up. "What's going on? What's wrong?" Marty asked as she rubbed her eyes trying to adjust to the bright light in the room.

"Discipline and Punishment, I've never punished you before, but then again, I've never had a reason too. Tonight you ruined everything and there is no second chance for me and because of that you have to go away. When I look at you I see what I did to your mother, you're nothing but a reminder of the worse thing I've ever done. I used to think that you were my saving grace, an angel sent here to give me a second chance to make things right, but I'm not sure of that anymore so you have to prove yourself to me," Michael slurred, "get dressed in some warm clothes, we're going to go for a little walk."

Marty didn't know what was going on. She was tired and just wanted to go back to sleep, but she didn't want to make Michael angrier with her then he already was so she changed her clothes and left the house with him.

They walked through the woods for what seemed like forever to Marty. It was dark and Marty was tired of walking but she didn't complain because Michael was angry enough as it was.

"Stop, this is the spot," Michael finally said.

"The spot for what?" Marty asked.

"I've found the perfect test for you to prove to me that you're more than just a curse," Michael said as he pushed Marty.

Marty fell into a hole in the ground and landed in the dirt. She twisted her foot when she landed and had to sit down.

"If you make it out of there then I'll know that you were my angel sent from god. If you don't then I'm better off without you," Michael called down and then left.

"Please don't leave me," Marty whimpered, but it was too late he was already gone and she was all alone.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five,

Michael woke up the next morning, his head was throbbing, and his stomach was still churning. It had been a long time since he had taken a drink and now he was feeling all the consequences of the night before. He couldn't remember how he had gotten home. The last thing that he remembered was talking to Peter Manning at Rodi's but everything after that was dark. He had an ominous feeling that he had done something horrible, something that would haunt him if he didn't fix it, but he couldn't remember anything.

He got out of bed and knocked on Michelle's door. He couldn't remember much about last night but he could remember hitting Michelle, his perfect angel Michelle. He had to make it up to her, to get her to forgive him. He would stop drinking; he would prove to her that he would never hurt her again. He opened the door when she didn't answer and saw that her bed was empty.

He ran down the stairs to see if Michelle was there, but she wasn't.

"Luke, Megan, have you seen Michelle?" Michael asked when he saw his kids playing outside.

"I think she's still asleep," Megan answered.

"No she's not, her bedroom's empty. Did she mention anything about leaving?"

"Not to me," Megan answered.

"Megan, go in the house and see if Linda has seen your cousin." Michael waited until Megan had gone into the house before turning to Luke.

"Luke, you're being awfully quiet. Do you know where Michelle is?" Michael asked.

"No, I haven't seen Michelle since last night. Do you think she ran away?"

"Did she mention running away?"

"No, but she was upset yesterday. She had a black eye, she said that she fell down the stairs, but I think she was lying. I think she was covering for somebody."

"Why do you think she was lying?"

"I don't know, she didn't look at my eyes and she seemed uncertain when she told me she fell down the stairs, plus she seemed afraid of something. I did my best to keep her safe; I don't know who hurt her. I've been keeping my eye on her, making sure that she stays safe just like you told me too. I'm sorry I let you down, please don't be mad at me. We'll find her dad, I promise." Luke said as he wiped the tears from his eyes. He knew that crying was weakness in his father's eyes, but he couldn't help it. He loved Michelle and if she was gone he was afraid of what his father would do.

"We better find her, but until then you can't tell anyone she's missing."

"Why not dad? We need help to find her."

"Don't ask me questions. I'm your father and I know what's best. If other people ask you where Michelle is you tell them that she is very sick and recovering at home."

She had disappeared without a trace and Michael feared that his chances at redemption had gone with her. She most likely ran away but he couldn't report her missing because then the truth would come out about Michelle being Marty and he would never get her back.

Tomas Todd Manning was playing with his remote control cars in the living room when he accidently bumped against the small table and he knocked over the vase. It shattered into a million pieces as it hit the floor and Tomas knew that he was in for it. He ran up the stairs hoping that he could get out of the room before his father heard the crash but it was too late.

"Tomas, where do you think you're going?" Peter Manning sternly asked as he came into the room.

"I was going upstairs sir," Tomas said in a tone barely above a whisper.

"Don't mumble when speaking to me. Come here now."

Tomas walked down the stairs to face his punishment.

"Did you knock over that vase" Peter asked as he pointed to the pieces lying on the floor.

"No, I think it was Carlos," Tomas said hoping that his father would believe that the gardener was responsible.

Peter roughly grabbed Tomas and begun to shake him, "don't lie to me boy, how dumb are you? If you're going to lie at least come up with a good one. Carlos has today off. Now I'm going to ask you again, did you knock over that vase?"

"Yes sir."

"Go get my belt out of my room."

Tomas slowly walked to his dad's room and picked up his father's black belt and brought it back to Peter. "Please dad. I'm sorry it was an accident. It won't happen again." Tomas said as he begun to cry.

"Stop acting like a pansy, remove your shirt and take the position like a man."

Tomas removed his shirt and turned around exposing his bare back to his father's wrath.

"Normally I would give you five lashings for this offence, but because you lied and tried to avoid the punishment I'm going to double your punishment. Count to ten" Peter said as he whipped the belt out towards Tomas's back.

"One," Tomas said as the belt buckle came into contact with his back.

By the time Tomas got to ten his voice was barely audible. His back was sore and raw and he felt completely humiliated and worthless. He tried to be good, but no matter how hard he tried he always made his old man angry.

"Now get out of my sight. I don't want to see you for the rest of the night." Peter said.

Tomas headed to his room and closed the door behind him. He laid on his bed and cried into his pillow. He waited until it was quiet downstairs and then he snuck out of the house.

Marty laid her head down on the dirt; the shadows had come to haunt her again. It had been one week since Michael pushed her in the well, although, Marty had long since given up on tracking time. At first she had screamed for help but nobody had come. She was certain that Michael would eventually come back for her but he never did. Now she was certain that she was going to die in this hole and she would be all alone except for the shadows. Marty was cold but there wasn't anything that she could do to get warm. She was hungry and thirsty but there was no food or water. She was lonely and the silence terrified her. She didn't know what she hated more, the crippling isolation she felt or the fear when the shadows on the wall began to speak to her. The shadows terrified her and told her that she was exactly where she belonged because she had been bad. She had tried to ignore them at first but it was getting harder and harder.

The shadows had come back, Marty tried not to listen to them, she tried to ignore them but she couldn't. She closed her eyes and began to cry as she prayed for deliverance from the monsters that haunted her.

Tomas went for a walk. He needed to get out of his father's house. He debated running away but where would he go? He couldn't be with his mother because she didn't want him. His father had told him repeatedly that she left because of him. He had no other options. His father was all that he had so Tomas decided that he would go back and be the best son that he could be. If he tried harder than his dad would have no other choice but to be proud of him and to eventually love him.

He turned to head back home when he heard a faint crying. Tomas told himself that it was just his imagination and he kept walking towards his home, but he couldn't continue. There was something about the voice that haunted him. It carried a pain that he knew all too well and he couldn't ignore it. He followed the sound of the cries to a wishing well.

Tomas looked in the well but all he could see was blackness. "Is somebody down there?"

"Go away," Marty responded back.

"Are you hurt?" Tomas asked.

"Are you a shadow of the night? Have you come to kill me off?" Marty asked.

Tomas didn't know how to respond. She wasn't making a lot of sense to him, but the fear in her voice got to him. After a couple minutes of silence Tomas responded. "No I'm not a shadow, I'm a boy. I won't hurt you? I'm here to help you. Are you stuck down there?"

"Do you promise that you're not here to hurt me?" Marty asked.

"I promise. Can you climb out?"

"No, I'm stuck down here."

"I'm going to go and get my rope ladder. I won't be long."

"No, please don't go. You're the only person I've spoken to in so long. Don't leave me alone again."

"Okay, I won't go anywhere," Tomas said. He knew that he needed the rope ladder to help her out of the well, but he couldn't just leave her, not now, not when she was so desperate for him to stay. He decided that he would stay with her until she fell asleep then he would go and get the ladder and be back before she ever knew that he was gone. "What's your name?"

"My name's Michelle. What's your name?"

"My name's Tomas Todd Manning. Do you live around here? Does your family know where you are?"

"I live with my uncle Michael not too far from here. I don't think anybody cares that I'm missing. I've been gone for so long but nobody's come. He didn't come back for me."

"Who didn't come back for you? How did you end up down there?"

Marty thought about telling Tomas the truth about Michael but she couldn't risk it. If she ever got out of here and Michael ever learned that she told he would be very angry with her again so she decided to lie. "I tripped and fell. I think I twisted my ankle. It hurts really badly. I thought I was going to die down here. I'm really scared."

"I know what it's like to be scared. My father doesn't like me very much; in fact I think he hates me. Tonight I broke a vase and he let me have it. So I know what it's like to be afraid and to have a family that doesn't give a damn about you," Tomas said. He knew that there was more to Michelle's story. She was afraid of her uncle; he could sense it in her voice when she spoke about him. He thought that if he shared his experience with her it would help her to not feel so alone.

"I'm really glad you're here."

"I'm really glad I'm here too."

Tomas talked to Marty until she fell asleep. The sun was just beginning to rise and Tomas knew that he had to find his way back here before she woke up again. He ran all the way home and snuck back into his bedroom window. He retrieved his tree house rope ladder and headed on his way back to Michelle.


	6. Chapter 6

Falling From Grace 6

"Thomas," Marty called out hoping that the boy from yesterday hadn't been a hallucination.

There was no response and Marty started to cry. She was never going to get out of there and she would die all alone.

"Michelle, are you awake?" Thomas asked as he returned with the rope ladder.

"I'm awake, where were you? I called for you but you didn't answer and I was afraid that you weren't real."

"I'm real, I just had to go and retrieve my rope ladder so that we can get you out of there." Thomas said as he threw the ladder down to her.

"I'm not sure I can make it up by myself, I'm so tired."

Thomas climbed down the ladder to Marty, "I'm Todd" he said as he held his hand out to her.

"I thought your name was Thomas?"

"It is, but I like my middle name Todd better."

"I like that name," Marty said. She wished that she could tell Todd her real name, but she couldn't risk it. Michael had warned her that she would end up alone if she ever told anyone her real name.

"I'm Michelle," Marty said as she took his hand in hers.

"Nice to meet you Michelle. Go ahead and climb up, I'm right behind you and I'll catch you if you fall," Todd stated.

It took Marty a long time to climb to the top and she knew that she wouldn't have made it, if he hadn't encouraged her to keep going.

Todd looked at Michelle, she was so thin, but very pretty. "Do you know how to get back to your house?" he asked.

"No, I'm not sure where we are at."

"We can walk to my house, my dad's at work right now, but when he gets home, maybe he can help us figure out where you live," Todd offered. He knew that he would catch hell for having a girl in the house without his father's permission, but Michelle was worth it.

Todd helped to support Marty as they walked to his house and she began to recognize the area. "I know where we're at now. I live just around the corner from you."

"Do you want to go home now?" Todd asked feeling disappointed. He wanted to spend some more time with Marty.

Marty knew that eventually she would have to go home and face Michael, but she didn't want to go home yet. "No, let's go back to your house for a little bit," Marty stated.

Todd and Marty went to his house and he ordered the cook to whip up some Chocolate Chip Pancakes while Michelle hid in his room. He knew that Michelle had to be hungry and he wanted to make sure that she was fed.

Todd and Marty ate the pancakes in his room. After breakfast Marty laid down on Todd's bed and fell asleep. The walk had exhausted her.

Michelle looked so beautiful while she slept that Todd couldn't help himself. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. He sat on the bed by her side and played videogames while she slept.

Marty slept for a couple of hours and then woke up. "Sorry, I fell asleep."

"It's okay, you were tired."

"I better get back home," Marty stated.

"Am I ever going to see you again?" Marty asked.

"Of course, you're the best friend I've ever had." Marty said as she kissed Todd's cheek.

"You're my best friend too." Todd stated.

Marty climbed out the window and started on her way home.


	7. Chapter 7

Falling From Grace 7

Marty took a deep breath before she walked into her house. "Michelle, your back," Luke stated as he ran to her side. "Where were you? I was so worried that I'd never see you again," Luke said as he pulled her into his arms.

"It's okay Luke. I'm okay," Marty said. She had missed him and Megan deeply. She wanted to memorize everything about him, from his scent to his dimples when he smiled so that she would never be separated from him again.

"Dad, Megan, Michelle's back," Luke shouted.

"Michelle, I missed you so much," Megan said as she bounced down the stairs with excitement.

As excited as Marty was about seeing Luke and Megan, she dreaded seeing Michael again. How would he react to her presence? Would he take her back to the well? Would he hurt her in another way?

"Michelle, you're alive," Michael said as he came into the room. "Luke, Megan, can I have a moment alone with Michelle?"

"Sure dad," Luke said as he grabbed Megan's hand and left the room.

Marty wanted to beg Luke to stay with her, but she let them go without saying a word, because she couldn't afford to make Michael any angrier then he already was.

"I'm sorry that we argued and that I lied to you about being you're dad, but you shouldn't have run away."

_Run away...Marty didn't know what Michael was talking about. She didn't run away. Was it possible that he didn't remember what he had done to her?_

"I didn't run away," Marty stated.

"Then where have you been this whole time? What happened to you?"

Marty stared into his eyes trying to determine the best course of action. She believed that he didn't remember what he did to her and she couldn't bear to tell him the truth so she lied. "I just wanted to take a walk after our argument. I tripped and fell into a well. I was trapped down there until this boy found me and helped me climb out of the well."

"Boy? What boy?"

"I'm not sure, I don't think that he told me his name," Marty stated.

"Well thank god, you're home and safe now," Michael said as he wrapped her in his arms.

-

"Good night my sweet angel," Michael whispered as he kissed her on the forehead and closed the door.

Marty tried to fall asleep, but she couldn't. She was terrified that if she closed her eyes Michael would come back and take her back to the well. Marty locked her bedroom door and then snuck out her bedroom window. She couldn't stay in that room any longer, there were too many demons and all she wanted was Todd. He was the only one that could make her feel safe again.

She walked to Todd's house and used the rope ladder to climb up to the roof where his bedroom window was located.

-

Todd was almost asleep when he heard a faint tapping sound coming from his window. When he opened his eyes he saw Michelle standing outside.

He slowly and quietly got out of bed and opened up his window. His dad didn't know about Michelle and if he found her trying to get into their house then there would be hell to pay for both of them.

"Michelle, what are you doing here?" Todd asked in a whisper.

"I couldn't sleep in my room. I don't want him to take me away again," Marty whispered.

"Who?"

"The demon that haunts my dreams," she stated. "Can I sleep here with you tonight?" Marty asked.

"Of course, but we have to be quiet and you have to be gone by 5:00 so that my dad doesn't catch you here,"

"Okay," Marty stated as she climbed into Todd's bed.

Todd set his alarm clock for five and then climbed into bed beside Marty.

"Good night Michelle."

"Good night Todd," Marty stated as she kissed him on the cheek and fell asleep in his arms.


End file.
